Tweaking Your Diet Can Help Manage PCOS

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome can cause hormonal imbalances, irregular periods, weight fluctuation and fertility challenges – and it can require patience to minimize symptoms. PCOS requires a multi-faceted approach to treatment, including lifestyle modifications. The good news: Altering your diet can help manage PCOS.

PCOS is an endocrine disorder that as many as seven in 100 women contend with. Hormones are responsible for abnormal signaling between the brain and the ovaries, which can lead to irregular menstrual cycles. In PCOS, the ovaries also produce more testosterone. These hormonal imbalances can contribute to insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.

No single diet has been proven to cure PCOS symptoms. However, healthy eating habits that reduce inflammation and lead to a weight loss of even 10 to 15 pounds can moderately improve symptoms. Women who have a higher weight or body mass index can potentially see even greater improvements. Two diets offer the greatest benefit to PCOS sufferers.

DASH Diet

The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, aka DASH diet, reduces insulin resistance
and triglyceride levels. This eating approach focuses on lowering your intake of sodium, processed meats and processed foods.

The DASH diet suggests eating four to five servings of fruits and vegetables, six to eight servings of whole grains and two to three servings of low-fat or no-fat dairy a day. The best protein sources include lean meat, fish, skinless chicken, legumes and nuts. Sodium intake ideally is less than 2,300 mg a day.

Doctors don't know exactly why the DASH diet helps PCOS. Many people with PCOS also have hypertension, which is the focus of the DASH diet. This way of eating has led to weight loss for many women with PCOS, and that weight loss has led them to feel better overall.

Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is often recommended to people who have heart problems. It focuses on eating plants, healthy fats, whole grains and lean proteins, and it limits consumption of red meat, sweets and processed items. The Mediterranean diet provides several benefits, including:

• Decreases inflammation
• Lowers the amount of bad fats
• Reduces LDL, or “bad” cholesterol

Specifically, it provides the most benefit if you:

• Eat lots of vegetables
• Increase your consumption of lean seafood
• Include avocados, olive oil, nuts and seeds in moderation
• Avoid red meats, full-fat dairy, egg yolks and other saturated fats

This diet’s low glycemic index can help with insulin resistance. It’s especially helpful if you want to increase fertility.

What These Diets Have in Common

Both diets emphasize eating whole foods, especially a lot of vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds and lean proteins such as fish and poultry. Both diets suggest avoiding red meats, processed meats, saturated fat and processed foods.

Any diet that reduces the intake of sugar, fats and processed foods helps reduce inflammation. Limiting or removing processed foods and eating more whole foods typically leads to weight loss, which a majority of PCOS patients will benefit from.

How Supplements Can Help

Women living with PCOS may benefit from taking supplements. For example, Inositol can help improve insulin resistance.

These additional supplements might also help:

• Omega-3 fatty acids
• Probiotics
• Coenzyme Q10
• Vitamin D

There is some evidence the above supplements may help improve various metabolic and endocrine outcomes, such as reducing insulin resistance and improving your cholesterol levels. Studies are still being conducted to determine the efficacy of supplement use with PCOS.

If you have questions about supplements or how a change in eating can help your PCOS, you may want to consult your gynecologist.

This content is not AI generated.